Sunday, 22 December 2013

Morning light revealed a light snowfall that has covered the ground, not more than an inch or two, but as I look out my window to the east, it is a winter wonderland. Just in time for a white Christmas but this snow will not last three days without being refreshed. Our sun melts it except above the snow line around 8000 feet. And for that I am indeed grateful for the skiing has already begun.

For many years I have used the illustration of fresh snow, where there are no tracks, as the day that lies ahead. Neither I nor anyone else has walked in it yet and there it is, untouched except perhaps by one of the animals or birds who are often ahead of their human counterparts. The question that looms is what kind of tracks will I make? What will I give to this day that lies ahead? It has already blessed me with a new beginning and each encounter I have today will be like the snow, fresh with possibilities to make new tracks.

Each of us will go through our day today and how will it be different from any other day or will it be pretty much the same? Or, because it is Sunday, as opposed to some other day of the week, and the first day of this coming week, will that affect me in some way that will influence my conscious intentions? Several activities, commitments and plans are already laid and I know where I am going and how I will get there, at least for those few that I can see ahead. I best get started!

We will go through this day, making new tracks in the snow, here and there, straight lines from A to B, wandering routes, meandering in thoughts and conversations, going wherever it seems to evolve through the synergy of the moment. We will continue the process here of sorting and packing, getting ready for the movers who arrive January 3. We will walk through the snow to our friends and neighbors for an early evening Christmas dinner and finally, we will get ready for a holiday trip tomorrow to a city and family some 583 miles away.

At the end of the day today, I shall look back and see what kinds of tracks I have made, review where I have gone, what I have done, who I met along the way, what was said, and perhaps anticipate what may lie ahead. Then, with gratitude for the gift of yet another day, I will put it away, let it go and perhaps after a little reading, sink into a deep sleep of a winter's night. As of right now, more snow is falling and had I made any tracks, that new, fresh snow would cover them and make ready for more tracks. Just like another day being made ready for tomorrow.

Friday, 20 December 2013

On Saturday, December 21, 2013 at 10:11 AM
MST (for me) the sun reached its southernmost point before starting back on
its northward trek toward Spring. You can calculate your own time accordingly. Actually it has more to do with the tilt of the earth on its axis and
its elliptical orbit but we will leave that to the astronomers.I am just one of those who watches the
sun regularly rise and set, notice where it is on the horizon, and give thanks,
for I am blessed to be able to see the horizon most of the time.

The winter solstice really only lasts a moment in time, and
some of the other terms for the day on which this occurs, are
"midwinter", "the longest night" or "the shortest
day".It really is not the
shortest day or longest night.It just
refers to the amount of light within a 24-hour period. And, it should not be confused with
"the first day of winter" especially here in northern New Mexico
where we have had lots of snow and cold since before Thanksgiving. The sun was brilliant on the ski slopes
last week.

What winter solstice signals for me is the return of the
light as now the days start getting longer or rather there is a bit more
daylight each day, just as it has been decreasing slowly each day since last
summer’s solstice. This celebration of light is recognized and honored by many
religious groups.From the Roman
Saturnalia to the Indian Pancha Ganapati to Hanukkah and Christmas, to the
Persian Yalda and the birth of Mithra, and the recent creation of Kwanzaa in
1966, all kinds of cultures have found ways to pay special attention to our source
of life and follow the sun.

You may well celebrate this season with your family and
friends, give gifts and light fires; you might take a walk in the woods or ski
down a mountain or through a forest; you might read or pray or sing; many of us will eat and drink around a community table. Whatever you do, take some
time to do something special that is worth remembering. Stop whatever you’re
doing for just a moment in time, for that is what solstice is, a moment in
time.Mark it in your
journal or on your calendar with your own special thought and experience and share it with your family and friends.At the least, be open to receive the blessings and gifts of the season and celebrate joyfully and gratefully.

Thursday, 28 November 2013

Living where there are four distinct seasons is a reminder
of preparing for and welcoming change, mostly a change in the weather. The
accompanyingvisual and visceral
experiences range from the position of sunrise and sunset to variations in
temperatures and colors and mother nature at her best.On this Thanksgiving morning the sun
bathed the clouds in a deep coral hue and then the color shifted slowly to a
silvery, feathered array of scattered altostratus.

We have had some snow, more at the higher elevations where
the ski areas are opening today as we hover ever closer to winter solstice in a
little over three weeks.The trees
are bare and appear dormant as they overwinter in a resting phase with
essential life processes continuing at a minimal rate. Full-on root growth
resumes in spring, shortly after soils become free of frost, usually sometime
before bud break.

Here in the high desert our first frost comes as early as
October 15 and the last one as late as May 15.While that makes for a short growing season, some of my
farmer neighbors have found numerous ways to extend that on both ends of the
cycle and thus we all benefit from their creative, dedicated energy and
commitment. If you have a local
CSA, consider joining if you have not this past year.

As we plan to move from The River House after almost 9 years
here in the midst of such natural beauty replete with various animals in our
miniature peaceable kingdom, it’s an opportunity for a transition from one
place to another, from one lifestyle to another with less maintenance and
worldly cares.This offers a
measure of freedom and independence for us to work less and travel more. This
change has been in the works for about a year and is now coming to fruition.

For all the time and pleasures we have enjoyed here with
ourselves, our animals, our families and friends and good neighbors, we are
enormously grateful.We have been
richly blessed by their presence, their genuine caring and generous sharing and
we appreciate so many good times together.We are grateful to now be able to choose to make this change
while we have the time, the resources and good health to do so. There will be more changes, and as
we all know well, not all may be the most desirable, but for those that are,
thanks be to the gods of change!

Friday, 22 November 2013

This phrase, “less is more” appeared in a love poem (line78)
in 1855 by Robert Browning , “Andrea del Sarto” called The Faultless Painter. The
phrase was adopted by Mies van der Rohe, an architect whom I studied briefly in
an undergraduate course called “The House.”He, along with a number of others, including Frank Lloyd
Wright, were leaders in the minimalist movement that tried to scale things down
rather than up, clean lines, good design.

Since then that phrase “less is more” has been popularized
by all kinds of movements and people from philosophers to musicans.Most notable among these are St.
Francis,Ghandi, Albert Schweizer,
Henry David Thoreau, and more recently, E. F. Schumacher in his 1973 work, Small is Beautiful, a study of economics
as if people mattered. Two musicians known for their
work in this genre are Steve Reich and John Cage.There are numerous others from many fields,
some in the environmental movement.

Living a more simple life has been espoused by various
religious and secular groups, including the Quakers. Related notions such as
self-sufficiency, conspicuous consumption, sustainability, downsizing,
intentional community, and the slow movement are all expressions from those who
do not necessarily agree with the economics of a culture where GNP is the
measure of success.There are many
people who believe that there are other values that could contribute to a
meaningful and productive life so that that we do not base our worth on the
market value of goods and services produced in one year.

What if we looked at a quality of life based not on how much
we have but how much we can give?What if the measure of a man or woman at the end of their lives was not
how much they had accumulated but how much they had been able to give
away?Then we might have a bumper sticker that says the one who ends up with the least wins instead of the
one who ends up with the most toys wins.It seems to be true that simplicity and clarity which lead to
good design applies to much more thanobjects. How about designing our lives around simple and clear rather
than complicated and cluttered?

The small house movement has gained in popularity the past
few years as more and more people discover how efficient and economical it is
to live in fewer square feet.There is even a small house society whose tag line is “better living
through simplicity.” (http://smallhousesociety.net/) Thas is quite different from better living through chemistry!

You can find many people who live full time on boats of
various sizes all over the world and we have met many fellow travelers on the
road whose only residence is their RV or recreational vehicle.These range in size and kind from small
to large and ones that you pull behind a truck or that are self propelled by
their own gas or diesel engines.Most
are self contained and are able to provide adequate and comfortable space along
with the necessary functions of heat, light, cooking, bathing and even
connectivity with the rest of the world.

We are taking a step in that direction ourselves.We put our house and six acres on the
market.It’s currently under
contract and we are planning to live for awhile in a house on wheels, read
motor home, even if it doesn't sell.Gypsies, someone said.
No house or apartment, just wandering here and there, working and living on the
road. Our theme song could be
Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TD_pSeNelU

That is but one illustration that affords a level of
freedom, independence and a significant reduction in possessions, equipment and
property that must be cared for, maintained and supported.More importantly perhaps is asking this
question. What would improve the quality of your life that is within your reach?The answer may or may not have to do
with “living space” but chances are at some point you will arrive at a time of
transition and then you can design the change and make the choice.

Monday, 18 November 2013

Last night was the full moon known as the Beaver Moon. I did not know for sure why it was called that so looked it up in the Old Farmer's Almanac, a trusted source for many years, and here's what it said, "Full Beaver Moon – November This was the time to set
beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter
furs. Another interpretation suggests that the name Full Beaver Moon
comes from the fact that the beavers are now actively preparing for
winter. It is sometimes also referred to as the Frosty Moon."

That set me to thinking about how we, at least in the northern hemisphere, and in the northern climes of the northern hemisphere, prepare for winter. On the farm, that preparation began with the Fall harvest, illustrated by the horn of plenty and the abundance of food. That time was also characterized by putting up hay and straw in the barn, corn into the cribs, meat into the smokehouse, wood chopped and split for stove and fireplace, and canning that had been done from the garden supply of vegetables and fruits. Those storehouses of supplies lasted well throughout the winter to feed family and animals while the ground was frozen and often covered with snow.

Thanksgiving, a time to count our blessings, in just another ten days, is also a time of gathering family and friends who sit down for a meal featuring turkey with stuffing and all the preferred side dishes of cranberry this or that, sweet potatoes, vegetables, pies and cakes and you name it. It is doubtful that the first Thanksgiving in 1621 had any turkey at all and Thanksgiving was not declared to be a national holiday until 1916. While national holidays are largely symbolic, what we make of them personally and in the context of our families is up to us. There are many ways to make them meaningful and memorable.

There is something about Fall, probably the change in the weather, that signals preparation for Winter and Thanksgiving used to be the time when it was OK to start thinking about the next holiday of Christmas. Commercial enterprise has changed much of that and now it seems the stores make the shift at Halloween as in sooner is better, at least for the cash register. Getting ready, the act of preparation, can be more important than the event itself. I think about painting, for example.
Adequate preparation is at least half the job and most of us know the adage that poor preparation leads to a poor performance or outcome. Yes, there are times when improvisation is just fine but change, whether in the seasons or in celebrations, requires a process of preparation that is valuable and worthwhile.

Here's a final note. There appears to be some tension between all of the time and energy invested in getting ready and than being fully present in the moment for which one has prepared. Perhaps the key lies in balance and being sure we can do both with the requisite and genuine enthusiasm that makes both getting ready and celebrating truly enjoyable and even exciting. Get ready, set the table, celebrate! Share the blessing and the joy in giving thanks and give that some thought in the next ten days, and beyond.

Friday, 15 November 2013

I receive at least a dozen or more emails, telephone calls or
messages each week (I don’t text) that are filled with comments about
how busy someone is and I am often guilty of the same kind of remark.
And for those who must travel for work, that adds a layer of time
consumption, creating more pressure and stress on the schedule, calendar
and one’s self. Add up the demands and expectations of a family, a
specific job or task, running a household, managing a business, dealing
with the oxymoronic customer service, absorbing the news, being
entertained, using the social media networks, watching and listening to
others, and perhaps most importantly and more often neglected than not,
taking care of ones own mind, body and spirit.

Yesterday my wife and I set out to winterize our mist away system for
the elimination of mosquitoes. Without going into the details of
installation early last summer, let me say simply that it is an
engineering and chemical mystery and marvel that sprays pyrethrin (an
organic compound) around our house and garden according to a programmed
computer system and a 55 gallon drum of the mixture inside a shed
adjacent to our house. It has to be “winterized” and now I laugh at the
scene although at the time it was anything but funny. We had to call
the “source” three times to accomplish what should have been a simple
task. It took over an hour and a half.
I now watch or listen with some degree of amusement as a friend or
colleague refers to an electronic calendar to find a slot where a
meeting is possible or impossible and I do the same thing although my
calendar and schedule have more leeway for the first time in 49 years.
When I served as an interim head of a school last year, I remarked that I
was fortunate to be able to work half time. That was 6 to 6! And
there were those evenings and weekends that added hours of work, most of
it meaningful and productive.

Another thing I am fond of saying although it does not resonate all that
well with some others goes like this: A friend or colleague says, “It
was a very long day” and I know what they mean but I have the audacity
to respond with, “I have news for you. They are all the same length, 24
hours.” The point is that we all have the same amount of time and it’s
simply how we use it, how we spend it, how we choose to invest ourselves
in the moment or the hour or in the day that has been given to us.

Maybe there is a way of looking at the day or the week not as
something to be filled up but rather as this miraculous and precious
gift of time which, in fact, could be our last day. If that were to be,
how would we spend it? The point is not to create a personal drama but
to be sure that we are including some of those things that we value the
most and not postpone them until we find the time or have the time.
Now, go put some of those into your schedule and on your calendar and
see if it makes a difference. Go ahead. Just do it!

Wednesday, 30 October 2013

When we move clocks back and forth, which we do twice a year
in almost all of the U.S. it reminds me that once again, we are often
manipulated by outside forces over which we have little or no control.One option, not possible for most
people, is to ignore the watches and clocks and create our own time cycles,
perhaps more in rhythm with nature, the seasons, sunrise and sunset, the moon
and the stars.This history of the
daylight savings phenomenon is rather interesting should you care to
investigate further.http://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/history.html

I have been a follower of the sun for many years and seasons
as it moves, or seems to move, north and south along the horizon and I find
ways to celebrate summer and winter solstices along with the vernal and
autumnal equinoxes.I don’t go as
far as dancing with the local coven in the moonlight, although I participate
enthusiastically in seasonal celebrations of harvest and home, Halloween and
Thanksgiving, this month and next.

Calendars and clocks are good for measuring, for planning,
for anticipating, for meetings, for looking ahead and looking back, for marking
special occasions and for remembering anniversaries, birthdays, beginnings and
endings.My calendars are often in
sync, sometimes not, and that’s OK.

I got a new watch recently (a Timex Expedition) and
remembered the comment about why would I have something that did only one
thing, to which I replied that my watch also has the date on it.The problem is that today is October 30
and my watch date says 20!However, it does keep the right time because I don’t have to do anything
to insure that.Seems that a lot
of people use their phones to tell what time it is.I say, whatever works.

Earlier today, while contemplating and musing about this and
that, it occurred to me that most of life is about change and growth and thus
about transitions, not unlike Fall to Winter to Spring and to Summer again. How
easily and beautifully she does that, most often gradually, but marked by a
date in time.Perhaps the lesson
for us is to be more gradual and allow the change to percolate up or down more
slowly and not be so eager to just get to whatever is next.Sit with the change for awhile, immerse
yourself in it and enjoy the transition by shifting gears a little more slowly,
intentionally and consciously. You can make of it what you will.

Sunday, 20 October 2013

About a year ago I wrote the following blog that attracted a fair amount of interest so I am reposting it here, slightly revised for your enjoyment. It's that time of year again here in northern New Mexico when the cottonwoods are the most golden hues imaginable. It gets one to thinking about being blessed with such a riot of color in this brilliant sunshine today and most days here.

Photosynthesis is as natural to plants as eating is to
humans.In fact, there are some
similarities with several significant exceptions.One is that plants seldom overeat.They take what they need, water from the ground through
their roots, CO2 from the air and sunlight to turn water and CO2 into oxygen
and glucose.The way they do this
is called photosynthesis which means literally “putting together with
light.”

Chlorophyll helps make it all happen and is what gives
deciduous tree leaves their green color in the summer.During winter, there is not enough
light or water and the trees will rest and live off the food they stored during
the summer.As they begin the
transition, as one who lives where I see this magnificent color change into
yellow and orange, I am amazed and delighted every year, this year just as much
as ever.

Plants and trees are very smart.As plants grow, they shed older leaves
and grow new ones. This is important because the leaves become damaged over
time by insects, disease and weather. The shedding and replacement continues
all the time.We
do the same, we let go of the old and grow something new for that which we
leave behind.

Right now the leaves
on our hundreds of cottonwoods are this most brilliant orange. The brightest colors are
seen when late summer is dry, and these Fall days are bright, sunny, and cool
(low 40's Fahrenheit) nights. Then trees make a lot of anthocyanin pigments. The frost and freeze will hasten
this process, the daylight diminishes, the leaves will turn brown, fall off the
trees and most of the plant activity we will not see for it is going on
underground.

Lessons from nature
abound.The rhythm and dance
continue in this annual display that offer us some lessons to consider.

1Eat
what you need to sustain your vitality.

2Save resources for
leaner times.

3Add some color to
your life.

4Figure out what you
don’t need and let it go.

5Prepare well for the
next season.

6Wait and don’t try to
rush the process.Let it work.

7Embrace and celebrate
inevitable change.

8 Know that what is not seen is often more important than what is seen.

Wednesday, 16 October 2013

This memoir highlights some personal and significant learning
experiences over the past seventy years, lifting these moments from each
decade beginning in the 1940's. From World War II right up through the
most recent decade, I describe some of the experiences that
have influenced, shaped and changed me. As an educator devoted to the
pursuit and practice of lifelong learning, I am still at work,
helping others to pursue their own learning and development, whether as
leaders of schools, or as teachers, parents or community activists.

As
someone committed to organizational development and school reform, I am a big proponent of planned change. I believe that one of the
critical variables in the success equation is a "purposeful shared
vision." It is evident to me that the Biblical precept in the Book of
Proverbs had it right. "Where there is no vision, the people perish."
For individuals and institutions to succeed and thrive over time, change
is not only a prerequisite, it is an essential characteristic. Change
is inevitable. The question is what kind of change would you like? What
can you learn that will enable and empower the kind of change you want
and who will you be as a result? "Our journey as lifelong learners
reveals who we are as human beings, not simply human doings. When we
speak of passion and purpose beyond ourselves, we need to know what the
implications are and how we can realize more of our humanity, our own
individual and collective purpose. I believe that this realization has
enormous power to effect growth the is real and lasting." Preface p.
vii

Tuesday, 1 October 2013

Leadership
development has most often been based on an externalized approach.People take courses or go to workshops that instruct them on
the desirable characteristics, or qualities, of leaders and how they should
act. Moreover, training has relied to some extent on old assumptions about
leadership. In particular, the “heroic” approach to leadership (i.e., the
strong individual leader) still prevails in many areas of leadership
development.It’s the old model of
problem solving and decision making, the executive functioning of the CEO.

It is only
recently that a growing portion of the literature is concentrating on
leadership development from the inside out. That is to say, getting people in
formal or informal leadership positions to take a hard look at themselves. “Who
am I as a leader? Why do I behave as I do?” are questions that we need to
periodically ask ourselves. When we pose these questions, it takes us to a
deeper level of inquiry and reflection.

The Santa
Fe Leadership Center has, for the past four years, focused its approach more on
the internal than the external aspects of leadership development.It is my belief that E.Q. trumps I.Q.
any day of the week.Not that intelligence
is any less needed, because working smarter instead of harder is still much to
be desired.http://www.santafelead.org

The recent,
rather extensive research conducted by IBM that looked at some 1700 CEO’s in 64
different countries representing 18 different industries shows some interesting
trends.The major challenge of
these executives used to be managing change.That has shifted to managing complexity.One of the more striking findings to me
was that these executives did not feel prepared to deal with the enormous changes
in the world as they are experiencing it.

Just as
important is the way these leaders engage with their employees and the
organizational attributes they focus on to draw out the best in their
workforce.Those attributes are
ethics and values (65%), a collaborative environment (63%) and purpose and
mission (58%).

According
to the 2012 study, it seems that productivity in almost any organization is now
more rooted in empowering employees through values rather than through quotas
or some other quantifiable measure, through engaging constituents (customers) as
individuals rather than as numbers and amplifying innovation through
partnerships rather than going it alone.

The
question is how are you getting the best from your colleagues in your own work
place?What are you focused
on?Are you satisfied with the
results?If not, why not and what
can you change to get a different outcome.If you are satisfied, how long do you think you can sustain
that level of satisfaction and how do you plan to do it?

Sunday, 29 September 2013

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight
is going on inside me," he said to the boy.
"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One
is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity,
guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority,
and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy,
peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy,
generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going
on inside you - and inside every other person, too."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,
"Which wolf will win?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

The other story comes from India and probably many other places too. Several boys. hoping to trick the village wise man, figured out a fool proof plan. They would capture a bird, hold it in their hands, take it to the wise man and ask him whether the bird was alive or dead. If he said it was alive, they would crush it and show him he was wrong and if he said it was dead, they would open their hands, the bird would fly away and the wise man would be wrong.
So they captured the bird, went to the village wise man and asked him the question, "Sir, is the bird in our hands alive or dead?? After a moment of silence, the wise man replied, "Boys, the answer is in your hands."

Saturday, 28 September 2013

Ted Mitchell, CEO of New Schools Venture Fund, which has raised $3.4 billion over the past decade for entrepreneurs in education, has a big idea. His big idea is to allow kids to progress at their own pace, accumulate
course credit as they master their work, not as they put in required
time. Ted says that the good news is that we actually now have technology tools that
can help us do that. We have adapted tools that provide students with
the right challenge for the right problem sets and examples as they move
through courses like algebra or chemistry or even American history.

As many as 25 years ago, there was a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, in conjunction with Germany and what they found was that we have the "formula" for education bassackwards. We hold time constant and make education the variable. In other words, a student has so much time, whether a quarter, a semester or a year (what Ted Mitchell and others call seat time) to get it. Ted's daughter has a semester, or a year to embrace Algebra I. He says what if she could show mastery of Algebra I in four weeks? That is but one example.

If we are about reforming and reshaping education, we would hold education constant and make time the variable. The sad conclusion of the study was that although this was clearly the problem, it would not happen because schools and those in charge would not be willing to change the system. It is not only broken. It is mired in the status quo, protected by incompetency, institutional arteriosclerosis and fear. Do you think the Gates Foundation's billions to reform high schools, Mark Zuckerberg's $100 million to Newark's public schools, and the gazillions of dollars being thrown at the problem to try and fix schools are making a significant difference?

There are plenty of people with big ideas and if money would make the difference we would have seen the impact long ago. What I concluded was that education was not going to reform itself in the same way that governments refuse to change. Educators are not going to solve the problem because they are the problem and the only way we will have reform is a revolution. I believe it's time for real intervention and rehabilitation. Systemic change requires the commitment and action of those responsible and for too long we have thought that if we just got better at what we were doing, that would be sufficient. It isn't.

Here's a quote from one principal that illustrates what has to happen. "At first I didn't see the magnitude of the change. I thought if we just
did better what we had always done, we would be OK. Then I realized we
had to do something totally different, but I didn't know what. Gradually
we began trying some new approaches. One change led to another and
another and another, like dominos. I started to see what people meant by
systemic change. A new energy and excitement surged among us as hope
grew and the cloudy vision of what we wanted became clearer and clearer."

The really big idea is change, real change, not just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic! How do we get the change that is needed? There has to be some agreement on what is needed and then we have to get rid of the industrial/factory model of education and replace it with one that is designed to set kids on fire with learning, to ignite their passion and purpose beyond themselves and turn them loose on solving the world's problems that are confronting all of us.

Thursday, 19 September 2013

http://news.yahoo.com/fund-set-honest-homeless-man-raises-91k-060359331.html The story touched enough people that by
now it’s probably over $100K.

The
point here is not his honesty nor the money but what the guy who set up the
fund said that I have been “preaching” for over 50 years.Ethan Whittington, who started the
fund, has been overwhelmed by the response but he understands why it works as
revealed in this quote: “If we come together and work toward one thing and work
together, then we can make it happen."

What I experienced in World War II was what I call the
circle of success, common vision, common purpose, common goals.It is what works to make an
organization, a jurisdiction, a country successful.What is often missing are the will and the desire to come
together and create that vision, purpose and mission around what we can all
agree on that we either need or want to happen.

The most recent decade has seen plenty of examples of
political obfuscation that results in inaction, a kind of institutional
arteriosclerosis.There are also
wonderful examples of success at the micro level, individuals like Whittington
and others who are having an impact in positive and constructive ways,
rewarding desirable behavior and reinforcing the principles and practices of
ethical choices.

So, what will you do today to advance common vision, common
purpose and common goals?What is
your individual and institutional mission?How will you invest your time and energy today to get the
biggest bang for your efforts and the greatest return on your investment?Go ahead, make your choices conscious
and intentional and take the initiative to act and get out of the react and
respond mode for awhile.You will
feel better at the end of the day, guaranteed.

Tuesday, 17 September 2013

Is GNH useful?Probably not, but on a personal level, I believe it is immensely
valuable.I came across the
following brief article this past Saturday in the Lex Column of the weekend edition
of FT (Financial Times) and share it for your own musing. See if you can read
between the lines for the U.S.A.

“Oh, perfect: another study concludes that Scandinavia is
wonderful. The Swedes, Norwegians and Danes are already known to be the best
educated, most egalitarian and richest, not to mention the tallest and
blondest.Now the UN World
Happiness Report 2013, published this week, rubs our noses in it buy finding
the five happiest countries to be Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Netherlands and
Sweden.

The rest of us – ignorant, unequal, poor, short and ugly –
cannot help but feel our misery all the more.

Other surveys have thrown up the same conclusion, the only
difference being which nations join the Nordics. The Better Life index produced
by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has Australia,
Sweden, Canada, Norway and Switzerland at the top.What these countries share is not great weather.It is that they are rich, stable and
western.

Do these measures teach us anything?The UN says happiness is closely
related to ‘social equality, trust and quality of governance.’Intangibles such as these are important
in evaluating what has come to be known as a country’s gross national happiness
(GNH).

Life expectancy and personal freedom are also important.So is real gross domestic product per
capita.But it is only part of the
mix.

The UN survey shows that the Irish, who have suffered huge
falls in personal income as a result of the financial crisis, and the Italians,
who have been in recession, on and off, for at least the past decade are
happier than the Germans, who have come through the global crisis without undue
hardship (schadenfreude is overrated,
apparently).Family and social
ties in Ireland and Italy at least partly compensate for declining wealth it
would seem.

The trouble with GNH, though, is that it may not be any more
useful as a political, economic and social tool than GDP.The GNH measure was pioneered in Bhutan
in the 1970’s and is a key measure of progress made there.In July, however, the government that
made a fetish of it was voted out of office.Personal happiness is elusive.The pursuit of happiness on a national level is likely to be
harder still.”

Thursday, 29 August 2013

Various media sources have been giving a lot of attention recently to the role of violence in video games and its effect on the players. The two basic positions are that either the worst of these games have an undesirable and negative effect on the player or that no, the players can separate fantasy from reality and have no problem from playing these games. Perhaps it can be either, depending on the player but it's clear that we should continue to collect the data and document the results.

To understand some of the effects of video
games, you need to go back to debriefings conducted by the U.S. Army after
WWII. Interviewing soldiers returning from battle, researchers discovered a
disturbing fact. A significant number of soldiers had been face to face with an
enemy soldier, rifle in hand, enemy in their sights, gun not jammed, and had not
fired. Something deep in their being, some sort of innate humanity, or values
instilled early on, had prevented them from actually pulling the trigger.

This was very disturbing to the military.
They began a research effort to figure out what to do about this problem. They
discovered that in the heat of battle, under the incredible physical and
psychological stress of being faced with another human being you were supposed
to kill, the higher mental functions were largely absent. Under such
conditions, the mind reverts to much simpler modes of operation, to deeply
wired, almost instinctive behaviors. In other words, no amount of target
practice and classroom lectures about how you're supposed to kill the enemy had
much effect when it counted.

Over the following decades and wars, the
Army learned that the way to get soldiers to reliably pull the trigger was to
use very basic, repetitive operant conditioning, along the lines of standard
behaviorist theory. Behaviorism provides a poor model for how humans act in
everyday life, but it turns out to be a fairly good model for how humans act
when they are under stress and have to act quickly, and are responding
primarily to fear. Under stress, fearful people do what they have been
conditioned to do. That is one
reason we have repetitive fire drills, so that we know how to react in an
urgent situation.

The Army's solution was to replace dry
target practice with realistic training grounds, complete with pop-up targets,
loud noises, smoke, stress, the works. The goal was to condition the soldiers:
if it moves, shoot it now, don't think about it. Repetition, repetition,
repetition: Target pops up, you shoot. Target pops up, you shoot. Do that often
enough, and, research shows, next time you see something pop up, you are more
likely to shoot it, even if it's a real human in a real battle. Sometimes it’s
called “friendly fire” when it is a mistake. This is not just a theory, it is documented by exit
interviews from soldiers in later wars: The Army got what it wanted.

What does this have to do with video
games? The answer should be obvious. The whole point is, if it moves, shoot it.
Again and again and again. The
military uses all kinds of expensive simulators, basically high powered video
games, similar to what kids use every day, to train its recruits and to
overcome the aversion to killing.
And there is evidence to suggest that those who are expert at gaming are
some of the best and most effective fighter pilots and soldiers. In the end, if you believe in war,
maybe video gaming is a good thing for survival! The downside is that, in most cases, the enemy is also
trained in shoot to kill. Is it
that he who presses the right buttons faster wins?

The cost for soldiers who survive, as
witnessed by the increase in post-traumatic stress, is devastating. As many as one-third of the
homeless men in the U.S. are Viet Nam veterans, most of them suffering from
PTSD and we are only beginning to count the cost from the years of human
destruction in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

What can we learn from this? Whether or not violent video games
cause aggressive behavior may not be the real issue. Perhaps the real question that needs to be explored is
whether video gaming might contribute to an acceptance of the need to destroy
the “enemy” without any need to feel anger or anything that can be consciously
identified as aggressive behavior.
After all, it’s just a game.

Here is a sample:

“Hunched with his troops in a
dusty, wind-swept courtyard, the squad leader signals the soldiers to line up
against a wall. Clasping automatic weapons, they inch single-file toward a
sandy road lined with swaying palm trees.

The squad leader orders a point
man to peer around the corner, his quick glance revealing several foes lying in
wait behind a smoldering car. A few hand signals, a quick flash of gunfire, and
it's over. The enemy is defeated,
but no blood is spilled, no bullet casings spent: All the action is in an Xbox-based
training simulator for the military, called Full Spectrum Warrior.” (Associated Press 10/03)

Finally, here is something which should
also concern all of us. When many
people see a real video, shot live, they think that because it’s seen on a
screen, that it’s not real when it is.
It’s just like a video game or worse, a television program with a script
and actors and made up in a studio or on a set somewhere like a movie. If you want to test that out on
yourself, take a look at some of the current, live, very real,military videos and register
your own cognitive and emotional response. This is somewhat the flip side of the video gaming issue and
equally important because it is very real and not a game.

Not every child or adult playing video games will
develop aggressive behaviors and only a small percentage will become soldiers
who are trained to do what soldiers must do. The point is that both children and adults can be easily
influenced by the media and high powered, well- conceived video games. What the short and long term results
are will continue to be debated but there is compelling evidence to suggest we
better take a hard look at what is happening as a result of violent video
gaming.

Sunday, 25 August 2013

I started this blog two years ago and without any prescribed schedule, I wrote something when the spirit moved me. In honor of the one-hundredth blog, I reviewed some of the earlier ones and this is an excerpt from the second one that I wrote, September 3, 2011.

I believe the “spirit” of the outstanding leaders I have known can be seen, heard and felt in at least the following ten ways.These are not in any order of priority.

1 - Enthusiastic and energetic
- There are many different ways of expressing one’s spirit of
enthusiasm, whether overtly or more quietly, but we most often
characterize this contagious quality as passion, thus strong feelings
that are shared.

2.Positive and optimistic
- While best balanced with a heavy dose of realism, the expression of
hope in the present and for the future is a quality of spirit that any
good leader is well-advised to have in his or her repertoire of
attitudes.

3.Caring and compassionate
- A spirit of genuine concern for others and their well-being goes a
long way toward helping a community to develop an ethos of mutual
support and collegiality.

4.Inquiring and curious
- The leader who asks thoughtful questions and demonstrates the spirit
of an inquiring mind helps to further the conversations to a deeper
level of understanding.

5.Conscientious and intentional – Designing change requires a spirit that is transparent so that others may see how seriousness of purpose pervades the leader.

6. Pleasant, friendly and joyful- As one friend and colleague puts it, “be kind, tell the truth and say thank you.”Good
manners, social grace and comfort in a crowd contribute significantly
to the perception of one who is “at home” easily and genuinely.

7.Confident and courageous
– Unafraid to make hard decisions, even unpopular at times, the leader
is able to take a stand, express convictions and move forward, even in
the face of opposition.It helps to take others along on this often perilous journey.

8.Humble and modest – Without any need to be boastful, arrogant or prideful, the leader allows his or her deeds to speak for themselves.Such a spirit speaks volumes without having to say a word.

9. Creative and open - The leader exhibits a mind that seeks and welcomes new ideas. This is the mind that works like the proverbial parachute, best when open.However it is not change for the sake of something new.

10.Fair and firm -These qualities speak of a balanced response, an attitude that knows how to assess and when to draw the line.This works with both individuals and groups and the leader’s spirit sets the stage, the tone and the process.

Many
of these qualities of spirit overlap and are part of a larger dimension
of one’s personality, having to do with attitudes and behaviors, as
defined earlier. It's E.Q. trumping I.Q. one more time. The point of all of this is
that being aware of how these play in the environment in which one
works can really make a big difference in the outcomes of so much that
you want to accomplish and these make it easier to get a lot done
without caring who gets the credit.Most importantly, these are qualities for good mental and physical well-being.

Saturday, 24 August 2013

Why do we say that you are going “back” to school?We know generally that it means
returning, often to something familiar, going “back” somewhere and that is
certainly one of the meanings when using the word “back” as an adverb.However, it also implies a past
condition or situation and although we might hope for a new condition, we would
probably not say that you are going “forward” to school.This set me to wondering how what we
say influences attitudes and perceptions as in, “here we go again, same old,
same old, very predictable and often not very exciting or engaging.”

There may be some comfort in returning to the familiar where
you know theenvironment, the
players and the program.You know
the expectations, you know the rules and you know how to navigate through the
system relatively successfully.Even in a different location, schools look and smell fairly much the
same.The teachers and students
may have different names but they act very much the same as those in the other
place.

An alternative,
an easy shift, would be to say that you are going to “start” school rather than
you are going “back.”At least,
there is the hope of a fresh beginning and not merely a re-tread of last
year.As I have seen and talked
with children in the past couple of weeks, I consciously asked when they were
starting school rather than when were they going back to school.I know it’s a very small thing, and
maybe it makes no difference at all, but it made a difference to me as I asked
them what they were looking forward to as they thought about starting
school.Kids tend to tell
you the truth and if you go as far as asking them what they might like to
change about school, they can tell you that too!

Here is one such conversation:

Me:When do you
start school?

She:Tomorrow!

Me:You sound
excited to start a new grade.

She:Yeah, I
am.

Me:Let’s see,
you must be about third grade?

She:No,
fourth.

Me:So,
you’re 9 years old?

She:Yes.

Me:What are
you looking forward to as you start school?

She:Seeing my
friends and being in a new room.

Me:Do you know
your new teacher?

She:She’s the
same one I had last year, she’s moving up with us.

Me:Is
that good?

She:Yes, I
really like her and she has lots of fun things for us to do.

Me:So going to
school and learning can be fun?

She:Oh, yes,
and there is so much to do, lots of different things.

Me:Is there
anything you would change about your school?

She:Yes, I
would have it be longer.

Me:You mean
you would like to go to school more days or longer days?

She:Uh, I
think more days.

Me:Well, you
are a very lucky girl and it sounds like you will have a good year, at least I
hope so.

She:Bye, I
have to go now.

Just a couple of minutes of a conversation while we were
sitting in an airport and this girl was the oldest of three children, mom and
dad holding the other two, babies, in their arms with a large stroller in
tow.I watched the interaction
between parents and children – loving, adoring, calm, focused, and all three
kids reflected an early air of confidence and security.My hunch is that this 4th
grade girl is going to have a great year, that she is a happily engaged student
and if I were her teacher, I would certainly love to have her (and her parents)
among my class.We would have a
great start to a new year.

Tuesday, 6 August 2013

I had the opportunity recently to spend several days in
Wyoming at Brush Creek Ranch where fly fishing is a major activity along with
numerous other western sports such as archery, sporting clays and targets,
horseback riding and a lot of social interaction around food and drink.Needless to say perhaps but those days
of delight were filled with being engaged in lots of activity.And the company of a couple of special
family members made it even more meaningful and enjoyable.

However, during the trip to and from the ranch, I decided to
take a different approach and in addition to escaping the interstates and
expressways, I chose instead to travel some of William Least Heat Moon’s
highways.And, I did not
intentionally take a GPS although I had a couple of good, old-fashioned maps
which allowed me to see the bigger picture and make some on the spot choices
about a different route here and there, or from here to there, and there to
here.Here is northern New Mexico
and there is southeastern Wyoming, just over Snowy Range in Medicine Bow
National Forest.The lesson here
is seeing the big picture and making conscious choices.

In addition to less than the fastest route, how quickly we
can get somewhere or how fast we can get the job done, even with a high level
of efficiency, I also chose to drive under the speed limit by at least 5-10
miles per hour.This was not to
annoy other drivers although at times, I know it did.What it did for me was not only to gain better fuel consumption
but to allow me to relax and enjoy the scenery so much more, even being able to
stop if I saw something of particular interest.Driving at or above the speed limit, which is my usual
practice, carries an element of stress which was eliminated completely.The goal was not the arrival at the end
of the journey but rather being more immersed in the journey itself and not see
it simply as a means to the end.

Besides spectacular scenery in New Mexico, Colorado and
Wyoming, I saw many more details that would have otherwise passed by in a
blur.Those details included
wildlife, architecture, small town cultures, local cuisine, and one of my
favored pastimes of flea markets and antique shops. There was also the usual
music, NPR and chatter on the radio, if I wanted it, and often that was silent
to avoid any distraction.

This was a nourishing road trip, soul food if you will, and
I look forward to the next one whenever and wherever it will be. Lots of
lessons learned!

Monday, 22 July 2013

Since when have customer service operations started putting a customer on hold for up to an hour and offering to call back? Here is the scenario.

I got a call from American Airlines this morning saying that an upgrade request for an upcoming trip has been confirmed and I am to call an 800 number to determine which account the miles should be taken from and what credit card I want to use for the surcharge of $350. So, this evening I pick up the phone dial the number provided and get the message about wait time between one hour and one hour and ten minutes. How the hell do they know that? I did not leave my number to call back and I was not going to be on hold for an hour. Instead I dialed another American number I keep on my phone and the wait time for that number is only twenty-three minutes. Same deal. I can hold or leave a number and they will call me back. I left my number and will write this while I wait.

I am working with a publishing company on a manuscript and if I sign in to their web site and leave my phone number, my phone rings immediately and someone answers on the other end. All I do is give them my account number and either that person can give me the information I need or they transfer me immediately to someone else who has the answer or information I need. I don't know who is bigger, Amazon or American Airlines, and it makes no difference to me. What does make the difference is the way they treat their customers who are willing to spend real money for their services.

The best response is when you call a number and a real person answers, not some recording offering a menu of choices from one through eight for various departments. Oh yes, if you know the extension of the person you're calling, you can punch that in and most often get a recording telling you how important the call is. I like the real person on the other end, flesh and blood and brains, and we often get along famously because I'm in a good mood. Some human being, usually with sufficient knowledge, has answered in real time and I don't have to waste time waiting, calling back or waiting to be called back.

Enough already. I am going to start rating customer service based on how the company deals with telephone calls and I will rate them from one to ten, one being the absolute worst and ten being the best. Once a company gets three ones, unless it's a local utility, most of which are not very good although better than average, I will look elsewhere for a place to take my business where I at least have the distinct impression that they really do care about their customers. Some places even know my name without my having to provide the city where I was born and my mother's maiden name.
Those places go to the top of my list. No wonder there are big companies having problems competing in today's marketplace. American Airlines isn't the only carrier that goes across the pond. They haven't called back as yet.

How would you rate your own company, organization or group? How do you think others would rate you? Are you willing to find out? Go ahead, ask!

Monday, 8 July 2013

Margaret Wheatley has published an excerpt from her new
book, So Far From Home: Lost and Found in Our Brave New World, published by
Berrett Koehler.I haven’t read the book but I read the excerpt called
“8 Fearless Questions.” You can read it here for yourself here and see what you
think :http://www.margaretwheatley.com/articles/eightfearlessquestions.html

What
follows is what it spawned in my early morning thoughts on this day.I picked up two
questions that I wanted to address briefly and they are these: What do you call
yourself and what is the relationship between hope and fear?These can be two essential, defining
questions and your answers may reveal a lot about who you are and what you are
about.

Each of us has a name by which we have become known, a name
given to us by our parents, a name sometimes chosen at random, or from a list
of popular baby names, sometimes by family traditions, and sometimes with
special meaning.In some cultures
a name has particular significance with regard to a blessing or something
sacred.Indigenous people seemed a whole lot
better at this, maybe because they lived closer to nature?

Beyond a given name however, what do you call yourself as
some kind of identification? It may have to do with your role as a worker, as
some kind of survivor, as a citizen of a particular nation or the member of a
group or association. It could be one of the big 8 social identifiers such as ability (physical and mental), age, ethnicity, gender, race, religion,
sexual orientation. Think for a moment how circumscribed those may be or
how limiting. Is "writer" or "author" sufficient? Even the word "American" can be controversial because when we are south of the border we are "Norte Americanos" and technically so are the Mexican people because they are still north of Central and South America. Some people were identified as members of a particular tribe, a social division of families or communities with a lot in common. Occupation or vocation?

Rather than define ourselves by what we do, how about
defining ourselves by who we are, our essential nature as human beings rather
than human doings?The essence or
ground of our being brings to mind the writings and work of Paul Tillich,
especially in The Shaking of the
Foundations, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1955.

"The name
of infinite and inexhaustible depth and ground of our being is God. That depth
is what the word God means. And if that word has not much meaning for you,
translate it, and speak of the depths of your life, of the source of your
being, of your ultimate concern, of what you take seriously without any
reservation. Perhaps, in order to do so, you must forget everything traditional
that you have learned about God, perhaps even that word itself. For if you know
that God means depth, you know much about Him…. For you cannot think or say:
Life has no depth! Life itself is shallow. Being itself is surface only. If you
could say this in complete seriousness, you would be an atheist; but otherwise
you are not."

Perhaps we can
call ourselves “believers” and that would require more discussion about where we
place that belief. As Tillich says, what is our ultimate concern, the depth of our life, our passion? What are we to be about? Suffice to say
here that the next question may shed some light on this first one about what
are we to call ourselves.

The second question has to do with the relationship between
hope and fear.What I have said
for a long time is that faith and fear are perfectly correlated,
inversely.The more you have of
one, the less you have of the other.What if we were less invested in the outcome and more present and
invested in the process, in the present moment?Would that have any effect on our behavior?On our choices?On our relationships with our work and
our colleagues? On our connections with family, friends and neighbors? I hope that, at the least, we
believe in who we are and what we’re doing and that who we are defines what we do rather than what we do defining who we are. Think about that!

Margaret Wheatley, in the excerpt noted at the beginning of
this piece, has quite a lot to say about working beyond hope and fear, of
living in the future now.How
about going beyond work and seeing what it is that motivates us to even
consider the kind of work that we want to be about?How about forming your own essential questions that define
you?If you come up with one
or two that you find particularly helpful, I would be most interested in
knowing what those are.I chose my
two questions based on what it was that moved me this morning to consider my continuing
learning more about who I am and what I want to be about, today and all that
may follow.If you have gotten
this far, let me know what you find to be your essential questions.Thanks!

Thursday, 20 June 2013

Tomorrow, June 21, marks the end of Spring, beginning of Summer. You can read all the details about why that occurs on this site: http://geography.about.com/od/physicalgeography/a/summersolstice.htm and learn a lot about the earth's relationship to the sun. However, rather than get bogged down in the details, I want to reflect on the meaning of Summer from a different perspective. It's a little like remembering what it was as a kid just out of school on the one hand and finding a way to return to that as an adult in later years with time to enjoy it again without work being a dominating presence.

I have had the privilege this past year of working occasionally, very part time, by choice, and that has been and continues to be an interesting life transition. It is also a gift and a blessing. It's not that I am looking for things to do to keep me busy. I have more than enough to keep me engaged, active, entertained and involved. For a quick example, I sit on a local non-profit Board and I am off in about 30 minutes to help move an 8x10 shed from Taos to Abiquiu to store our records and files. The afternoon will be spent cleaning, sorting, mowing, trimming, repairing, and general maintenance on our house, barn, sheds and 6 acres of land. That could be a full time job alone but it's not demanding work although it has numerous requirements. (I never made it back in time to do anything at home this afternoon)

Later this month we will head for Utah for a trip in our motor home and visit one of our 7 children and family and next month I go to Wyoming and join a son-in-law and grandson at a ranch for some fly fishing and other western outdoor activities. We just entertained 20 other family members and guests for lunch this past Sunday and our we are able to enjoy our extended family more often and in more places than previously.

Earlier this month we spent four days on the Conejos River in southern Colorado. Living here in northern New Mexico, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, makes it easy to appreciate the western landscape and be close to many outdoor activities , enjoying so much of what nature offers on a daily basis from sunrise to sunset and beyond.

So for summer solstice, we celebrate another season of joyful connections with warmer weather, clear blue skies, views over the Chama River to Sierra Negra, and on the pond portal, a view of our own bosque and a few free ranging chickens that supply us with enough fresh eggs to keep us supplied for our needs and an occasional surplus to share with others. The local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) gives us fresh produce grown and consumed locally and the summer is a time of harvest and real taste treats in the kitchen. Summer, for me, is a time to remember good times and re-create them in a different place with many similar experiences of happy occasions with family and friends and the products of land and stream.

I hope you find your own ways to celebrate summer solstice and the next three months prior to the autumnal equinox, another time of anticipation, appreciation, and celebration.

Saturday, 25 May 2013

Can you imagine using a cell phone that is 10 years old?I have seen a few but not many.Driving a 10-year- old car has become
more possible since that is merely a 2003 model and cars haven’t radically
changed all that much in terms of performance, especially as they enable you to
get from one place to another. And, if one is careful about maintenance (and sustainability)
any good car can get 200,000 miles.However, hybrids and other alternative fuel cars have come on the market
within the past decade for the most part.The world of consumption designs built-in obsolescence to make us
believe we need the newer, better, much improved model and a lot of that is
nothing more, or less, than slick marketing gimmicks.

I have several pairs of shoes and lots of clothes older than
10 years that still have a lot of wear left in them and I don’t care that much
about style.Tools in the
barn?They are pretty much the same
ones as I have had for more than 10 years and still performing well.And me?Well, I am about to start my 77th year and I
don’t think I am quite ready to be put into the obsolete pasture just yet.That will come soon enough, thank you
very much.

But education, being defined as 21st century,
while well intentioned, and calling for reform, has yet to show widespread
signs of significant change.There
are certainly bright spots here and there and signs of hope in many places
where people are investing in a different kind of delivery and outcome.But we’re still bogged down by
standardized test scores, obsolete measurement and assessments that do very
little for kids, bureaucratic systems that thrive on top-down, heavy-handed
management, and too much one size fits all mentality.Kids are still primarily grouped by ages.Ken Robinson refers to that as the only
thing they really have in common is their date of manufacture.His talk on changing the paradigm is a
must see and hear.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

We need another name and another concept for education that
is truly reformed, truly catholic (little C, please!) and truly
evangelical.I remember that
phrase from a long time ago, uttered by James I. McCord in a theological debate
about reforming religion, still a big issue in my mind.My point is that the terms could also
be applied to education.The
operative word may, in fact, be truly.Instead of tweaking the edges, adding a
new course, hiring someone in charge of creative learning, etc. we need a
radical re-design of the entire enterprise.There is not much short of a revolution that will accomplish
what I see is needed.Evolution
will take too long and leave too many children behind.

So, you ask, what is needed?What can you do without “throwing out the baby with the bath
water?”For starters, ask yourself
what you would do if you were starting over, what you might do if you were
starting a “school” from scratch, a clean, blank slate and you can create
whatever you believe will make a difference in the lives of kids, regardless of
the age group you want to serve?First, why would you do it? What would you do?How would you do it?Who would you like to join you in the effort?And, finally where would you want to do that?OK, have you gotten some answers to
those questions?Really?Are you sure?Maybe it’s not even a “school” as such places have been
defined in the past.

Now, move to what the obstacles are that are preventing you
from accomplishing reforming, reshaping and redesigning where you are. How would you go about removing those obstacles? Maybe it is not re-anything as that
might be regression.How about the
concept of a new school within a school, not for everyone, but for those
willing to take an intelligent risk on a new design for teaching and learning,
emphasis on learning, not teaching?How about that for starters?Now come up with your own and go for it.Need help?Ask
for it.

About Me

Writer, traveler, hiker, fisherman, enjoying these later years, migrate south in winter along with birds and butterflies to Mexico, looking ahead to the next adventure, project and sending good wishes to friends, family and colleagues.